• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Expression of the cry1Ac in `Arizona Common' Common Bermudagrass via Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation and Control of Black Cutworm
  • Contributor: Salehi, Hassan; Seddighi, Zahra; Kravchenko, Alexandra N.; Sticklen, Mariam B.
  • Published: American Society for Horticultural Science, 2005
  • Published in: Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 130 (2005) 4, Seite 619-623
  • Language: Not determined
  • DOI: 10.21273/jashs.130.4.619
  • ISSN: 0003-1062; 2327-9788
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: Bermudagrass (Cynodon L.C. Rich.) is grown on more than 4 million ha in the southern United States. The black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel) is the most commonly encountered pest of bermudagrass, especially on golf course greens. Developing insect-resistant cultivars is a very desirable substitute, both environmentally and economically, to using current synthetic pesticides. Here we report, for the first time, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of `Arizona Common' common bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] with the Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner cry1Ac gene encoding an endotoxin active against black cutworm. Mature seeds were used for producing embryogenic callus, and calli were transformed with a plasmid containing a synthetic cry1Ac and the kanamycin resistance (nptII) genes. Putative transgenic calli and plantlets were selected on media containing 100 and 50 mg·L-1 G418, respectively. RNA-blot analysis of PCR-positive lines revealed the expression of the cry1Ac transgene in three out of five putative transgenic lines. The larvae fed on transgenic plant leaves experienced highly significant (over 80%) mortality.
  • Access State: Open Access